IT SEEMS that the government has no short-and long-term solution to the shortage of natural gas. The shortage has paralysed life of the people. The delay in implementing the Pakistan Iran gas pipeline project, which was initiated 10 years ago, will take another four or five years to complete.
Owing to the wrong policy of the ministry of petroleum and natural resources, as well as of Ogra, it was not possible for the government to restrict the construction of CNG stations at least five kilometres from each other.
With a free-for-all policy, billions of rupees were invested in building about 500 CNG stations and CNG conversation kits for vehicles. All this investment is now being wasted due to the non-availability of natural gas.
It is likely there will be no price difference between CNG and petrol.
Explosions of CNG cylinders fitted in vehicles are killing passengers every day.
One fails to understand why those government servants are allowed to make policies for the public who do not have any vision and ability to know what will be the consequences of their policies in the long run.
The government has failed in the last four years to correct the mistakes made by the previous multiple governments.
Further, it has not been able to resolve the issue of the demand and supply of gas. It has also failed to reform SNGPL and SSGCL in order to reduce the massive gas theft reported by these companies.
It is time a new policy based on public and government partnership was formed to manage the oil and gas sector.
Local and foreign investors should be encouraged to invest in the energy sector to overcome the crisis. Keeping the status quo will only worsen the situation in the future.
Without the availability of energy at a reasonable price Pakistan cannot make progress in industrial and agriculture sectors. The extraordinary circumstances required extraordinary decisions.
A Citizen, Lahor